'Safe Road' defendant pleads not guilty

From The Chicago Tribune:

'Safe Road' defendant pleads not guilty

By Ray Gibson
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 28, 2002, 12:26 PM CDT

A CTA board member indicted last week in the continuing Operation Safe Road federal investigation into corruption in the secretary of state’s office pleaded not guilty today to an allegation of money laundering.

Alan A. Drazek, 61, was charged Tuesday with two other men in connection with an alleged $2.8 million kickback scheme. Drazek was accused of using his direct-mail company to disguise the illegal payments.

“My client is going to fight this,” Drazek’s attorney, Dennis Berkson, said after this morning’s arraignment in the Chicago courtroom of U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer. The judge released Drazek on $4,500 bond and set his next court date for July 2.

The indictment charged Lawrence E. Warner, adviser to Gov. George Ryan when Ryan was secretary of state, with using high-level political connections to get the state to lease buildings he secretly owned and to steer lucrative contracts for license plate stickers and digital licenses to vendors he shook down for payoffs.

Another defendant, Donald Udstuen, was accused of sharing in the kickbacks. To conceal the money trail, Warner and Udstuen allegedly secured Drazek’s participation so checks could be funneled to his company, American Management Resources, the indictment charged.

Drazek, who was appointed to the CTA board by Ryan after the latter was elected governor in 1998, cashed the checks, gave the money to Udstuen and kept a portion for himself, authorities said.

Prosecutors have said Udstuen is cooperating with authorities and will plead guilty.

The charges were the latest in Operation Safe Road. In April two former top Ryan aides, including chief of staff Scott Fawell, were indicted along with Ryan’s campaign fund. Fifty-one indictments have been issued to date. Ryan has not been charged with any wrongdoing.